Happy Mother's Day: Mother-Daughter Fashion from the Mid-1940s

With Mother's Day only a few days away, it seems timely to post about that wonderful fashion trend of the 1940s and 1950s, Mother-Daughter fashion! This trend to dress mothers and daughters in matching outfits certainly provided charm for the ladies in the family. In this post, I feature mother-daughter dresses from the mid-1940s that are perfect for spring and summer.

Mother Fashion - Simplicity 1553

Daughter Fashion - Simplicity 2068

A dirndl skirt in swing length and artfully puffed short sleeves - very nice! Add sash ties or not. The style looks especially cute when contrasting fabrics are used. I rather prefer view 2, myself. :)

Scraps from the Past: Toddler Coat in Sunny Corduroy

I so enjoy finding fabric scraps tucked into vintage sewing patterns. They provide a window into popular fabric trends to match the vintage pattern style itself.

The pattern: This pattern for an adorable dress, coat, and cap for a toddler just begs to be sewn. It is easy to imagine these fetching items from Simplicity 3807 and 1951 in any number of fabrics and colors. It's very inspiring!

The scrap: A small scrap of a very fine pinwale corduroy was included in this pattern. It is a soft fabric, and a warm color, perfect for spring. Certainly the fabric was used for the coat and hopefully for the hat. It does make one wonder, though - what fabric did they use for the dress? 

Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s: A Ribbon Rosette for Your Evening Frock

With the holidays approaching and all the festivities that this season entails, another tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears for her 1920s sewists on the subject of evening frocks seems appropriate! This tip is for creating a large ribbon rosette with streamers to accent your 1920s party frock. Key to her tip is two-toned or double-sided ribbon (a different color on each side, not two colors on each side). You create knotted loops and sew them in tiers to a circle of buckram - easy-peasy!

I love Ruth's tips. Enjoy!

Use a Guimpe to Create a Girl's Heirloom Gown

A guimpe? What's a guimpe? This beautiful girl's dress that I listed in my shop recently is an excellent illustration of a guimpe, also called a chemisette.  Typically of lace or embroidery or contrasting fabric, it is a fill-in at the top of a low-cut dress. 

McCall's 1654

As you can see, comparing the pattern with the following illustration (courtesy of Wikimedia), the term "guimpe" really is appropriate.

Courtesy of Wikimedia

While the McCall's pattern has the guimpe buttoned to the dress, more typically it seems to simply have been tucked into the dress. 

A guimpe can also be a short blouse or a dickey worn under a dress or jumper. And from this image, there seems to be no difference between the guimpe and a "modern" dickey or short blouse:

The advantage of the guimpe is the advantage of any detachable insert, that is, flexiblity! Like the detachable collar, you could switch out one insert for another and create a different look. 

And this is my little excursion into fashion history. :)

Home Sewing Tips from the 1920s: Teen's Petal-Skirted Party Dress

If you need a 1920s-style party frock for a teen girl, this tip from Ruth Wyeth Spears describes how to whip up a lovely petal-skirted dress.  Just get a few yards of crepe de chine in a lovely color and in no time you can have your girl looking chic for a summer party! The simplicity of the design amazes me - Ruth's techniques require no pattern and allow you to fit the dress to wearer. Don't be held back by the idea that this is a young girl's dress - I think it would work for any age!

As an interesting aside, girls remained girls much longer in the 1920s. Note how Ruth Wyeth Spears refers to "young girl" and "young daughter" in this sewing tip, but defines that as 16 to 18 years! Of course, back then sizes were defined in "years" as well. :)

Pattern of the Week: Beautiful Mid-1930s Formal Gown for Girls

I list new patterns almost every day in my Etsy shop, Midvale Cottage. While I enjoy just about each and every pattern for one reason or another, there are usually a few stand-outs, really wonderful patterns with details that make them special. So I decided it would be fun call out one of these each week. 

My featured pattern of the week (week being loosely defined here as within the last 7 days :)) is this beauty, a formal gown for girls from 1936.

McCall 8949

Designed for organdy, silk, and taffeta, this is truly a demure and elegant formal gown for a grown-up girl. The eye-catching aspect? The curved shaped yokes that extend over shoulders to form cap sleeves, with front button closing extension. You can opt to trim with ruffles at neckline and yoke edges or add a peter pan collar. You can choose to leave the gown with cap sleeves or add modified raglan short puff sleeves. The bias flared skirt with straight princess seams in 2 lengths is lovely and is set off with a wide sash tie belt. Altogether it is a very special gown indeed.

Scraps from the Past and In Search of Style - Mad Men Party Dress!

This is a double jackpot in a pattern envelope: "Scraps from the Past" and a clipping that was "In Search of Style". :D

The Clipping: Found in the pattern was this 1963 clipping for (remarkably) another pattern! The mail order pattern illustrates a lovely full-skirted dress with a snug bodice, short French sleeves, drop-waist points, and a portrait collar.

The Pattern: Simplicity 2413

The Simplicity pattern is very close to the mail order pattern and a wonderful match. It has a snug bodice with extended points, drop waist, full skirt (in this case with soft box pleats), portrait collar (in this case with a notch in front and a pert fixed bow accent), and short French sleeves.

The Scrap: Based on the beautiful blue color of this scrap that was tucked in the envelope, I would venture to say that the sewer was inspired by the color of the illustration on the pattern. The fabric is a soft, winter-weight interlock jersey in a vivid blue color. It's easy to picture!

November Fashions from 1967 - Glitter and Glow!

Skim through this November fashion digest from McCall's and see what was high fashion for the party season in 1967. Be inspired!

This quick dress (8990) is perfect in crepe for day, printed metallic for evening. Chic!

From left to right:
-A slim skim with fringe benefits - a glitter-trimmed scarf (8994)
-A look-of-the-moment shirt in a golden shimmer of sheer metallic (9012)
-A dress shaped with soft cowl neckline and inverted front pleat, and a matching no-button jacket (9014)
-A silver-threaded shirt tent drawing special attention to the side - don't forget the glittered buttons (9002).

 

From left to right:
-Stripe up a shiny new pantdress and light the look with a path of rhinestone buttons (9008)
-Black jets in with a confectionery blend of sheer over crepe - a bared-out beauty, breathless and beautifully borne for motion (8996)
-Elegant tent defined in a layer of silver threaded rosebuds over a shaft of silk-and-worsted (8992)
-A wisp of a slip dress in a rainbow fabric colored with a splattering of sequins (9004).

Shimmers of stardust fleck the smocked cage that flows free atop a slim slip of a gown (8998).
Enter moonbeam - a slim silver of shape in milk-white brocade (9010).

From left to right:
- A bright mini-skim with or without shorts that are lit up to peak through (8943).
- Sews up in a flash, looks like a smash! Squared in front, strapped in back, and shaped to be seen in neon green (9006).

Glow in this little dress, shaped to skim the body, with the important away-collar and flattering raglan sleeves (9018).

A contrast of a white satin yoke against the plush deep cotton velvet (9000).

"Night Lights" - McCall's Evening Fashions from November 1966

Holiday party season is coming fast upon us! I figured it would a great time to look at the evening fashions depicted in a McCall's November 1966 Fashion Digest, which are a picture of perfection in pastels. Fabrics that were "in" that year were silver and gold metallics (such as glimmery lames and glittery brocades), sumptuous matelasses, and diaphanous sheers.

8529: a tent dress dolled up for evening in rhinestone-rimmed silk and worsted.
8530: a tent coat, a floating shape in silver-crusted brocade.

8497: a swirl of softest chiffon, a-whirl over sparkling white crepe... the alluring cage, sprinkled with rhinestones, barely covering a lively little slip dress.
8517: a swing of silk organza, bordered with bands of shiny green satin and set afloat over a halter sheath.

8466: the sparkle smock, in a swinging silvery brocade... sparked at the shoulders with rhinestone buttons.
8464: the shimmer skimmer, in pale pink knit, lightly dusted with silver and shaped to swing softly to a row of ruffles.

8503: a slim shaft of pink and gold brocade, shaped like a shirt and brightened with jewel buttons.
8505: a magnificent fall fo palest lime crepe, caught into gentle gathers below the yoke.

8509: the rajah skimmer, a dazzling dress in silk and worsted, bedecked with pearl banding.
8499: Luscious white crepe, cut with flowing raglan sleeves, razzled with rhinestones at collar and cuffs.

8500: a super scoop, with tank-y top and long lanky skirt and the exciting look of golden crepe.
8527: the evening empire, with boidce softly molded under silver fishnet, with slender skirt gathered high, pretty neckline scooped low.
8446: brilliant brocade bareback, sparked with silver...flared to float smoothly to the floor.
8495: aglow with glitter... luscious cherry velveteen, accented with shimmering rhinestones.

8525: the halter sheath... a quick flow of glitter brocade... worn long as a gala gown or as a short theater suit, coupled with a smart elongated jacket.

8523:after-dark drama... a beautiful brocade of pink gilded with gold, shaped in the pure elegance of a short or long evening ensemble... the dress is a bare back empire, the jacket is a rajah style.

8508: little elegant looks... three fairy-princess hi-lines to wear out to special parties or at home.

8448: made for dazzling... the brocade skim, a feminine dance dress, destined for exciting holiday happenings.

Scraps from the Past: Teen Party Dress With Shimmering Blue Collar & Cuffs

This accessory dress from McCall's and 1957 is versatile and lovely - a dress you can dress up for parties or down for every day.

Here is the scrap that was tucked in the pattern envelope, a beautiful shimmering blue, (alas,  the shimmering aspect doesn't come across in this scan).

From the notes the seamstress wrote on the envelope, she planned to sew view D in a black silky plaid, with detachable blue taffeta collar and cuffs. Can you picture it? :)

Scraps from the Past: 1950s Little Black Dress

Yes, she sewed it in black! She bought this textured, crisp cotton in black:

Not sure if it shows, but the fabric has a texture with tiny diamonds, and has a crisp, slightly shiny quality. And then our mystery seamstress took this beautiful dress pattern from 1958, McCall's 4561, to sew up view B to create a beautiful little black dress!

It's such inspiring style!